Contractors: Remodelers & General Articles

Start by carefully considering what you think you want. Then weigh your wish list against what you’ll probably pay to fulfill it. Identifying goals and thinking through available options will force some decisions—and also help you set a budget cap.

If you’re adding new rooms, making substantial changes to the existing floor plan, or dealing with complex structural or functional questions, you’ll need to hire professional design help. There are several design options and combinations of options.

Though some homeowners leave the vetting and selection of contractors to their architects or house designers, most make the call themselves—and rightly so. Hiring a contractor who can successfully build what you’re planning, at a favorable price, is the most important step in any remodeling project.

Make a list of several companies that seem suitable for your project; then get in touch and schedule in-home consultations. Your objective is to compile a list of at least three companies, but preferably five or more, that will give you proposals and pricing.

Checkbook’s undercover shoppers asked contractors to bid on four different projects. Company-to-company price differences were striking. For the largest of the jobs, quotes ranged from $173,000 to $302,000—a difference of nearly $130,000.

Once you’ve picked a contractor, have it prepare a written contract. It should include the following information for medium-sized and major projects; but even if your project is small, many of these points also apply.

You can use our advice and price ratings to pay less—often a lot less—for appliances, fixtures, flooring, plantings, and many other products that you can buy on your own, rather than having your contractor buy them for you. But should you?

You have several options to pay for your project. Cash certainly is the easiest: no applications, no forms, no appraisals, no debt, no interest. However, many homeowners borrow to cover large remodeling jobs.